Method of laying floor-tile.



D. E. KENNEDY.

METHOD OF LAYING FLOOR TILE.

APPLIOATION rum) DEO.16, 1911.

1,054,423. I Patented Feb.25, 1913.

Big. 2 Fly. .5 fl A WW: I fiaw'dEK'enm-dy, awoewto'c UNITED STATES PATENT oar-Tea.

DAVID E. KENNEDY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

METHOD or LAYING FLOOR-TILE.

To 'all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID E.I{ENNEDY, a citizen of the 'United- States, residin in .the city. county, and State of New Y ork have invented a certain new and useful Method of Laying Floor-Tile, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a method of laying a floor or tread surface of units or tiles of yielding material, and relates particularly to a method of laying tiles of cork, or of cork or similar vegetable composition, which is subject to expansion and contraction under varying atmospheric conditions. One of the objects of my invention is to lay a floor or tread surfaceot' yielding material, such as cork tiles in a series of independent but correlated squares or sections in which the separate units or tiles are under suflicient lateral pressure to prevent the formation of cracks,'due to shrinkage of the tiles and to preserrev proper alinement of the rows of tiles. A furtherobject of the invention is to lay a floor or tread surface of yielding material as cork tiles in a series of relatively independent squares or sections, whereby irregu-v larities in the size of the units or tiles in the interior of each square or sectionwill be automatically compensated without cutting or changing the shape of the tiles, inorder to produce accurate alinement of the rows.

The various other objects of the invention will be more fully set forth in the following description of the preferred manner of practising my improvedmethod, which consists in the new and novel features hereinafter set forth and claimed.

Referring to the drawings wherein is illustrated such a floor-and the successive steps followed in laying it; Figure 1 is a plan of an arrangement of tiles embodying the first distinct step and showing parts of two sections; Fig. 21s a plan of an arrangement of tiles showing part of a section emliodying both the first and second steps;

Fi 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, to which is ad edthe laststep; and Fig. 4 is a section of tiles in elevation illustrating the first step.

The tiles with which my invention is princip'ally' applicable are made of cork composition orother similar material, which may be secured tothe floor by means of nails or cement or both. In the proper laying of these tiles it is necessary thatthey be crowd'- Speclflcatlon of Letters Patent. Patented Feb. 25, 1913. Application filed December 18, 1911. Serial No. 666,277.

ed together to a certain degree. The degree of crowding is important, for it should be sufficient to prevent them from separatin should they unduly shrink, but not enou i to permit them to bulge. should they, or any reason, unduly swell.

.-\ccording to my method, the entire floor space is first accurately measured and divided into a plurality of squares or sections, each having a definite area that is slightly less than the normal combined area of the predetermined number of tiles to be laid in said section or square. If the floor is divided into sections adapted to receive twenty-five tiles, as shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawings and the tiles are six inches square, then the normal length of a row of said tiles would be thirty inches, but the space measured ofi on the floor to receive such tiles is foreshort ened from about threesixtecnths of an inch to one-fourth of an inch, depending on the condition of the tiles, the foreshortenlng be ing less in case the tiles are in an extremely dry condition. Preferably the entire floor space is laid out in foreshortened squares by means of a chalk line or in any other convenient manner before the laying of any tiles is begun. been laid out as just described. then the laying of tiles is commenced in a section remote from the wall or baseboard and prefs erably near thecenter of the room or wall space, or in a number of sections simultaneously if the floor space is large.

In laying the section the four corner tiles e are permanently secured, as by nails or cement or both.v This is the first step and is illustrated in Fig. 1. These tiles are props erly spaced to include the desired number of tiles between them, in this case three, and the space/is fcreshortencd to'the amount required to produce the necessary squeeze. In practice I have found that this space may e foreshortened a minimum one'thirty-sec 0nd of an inch for each twelve inches of tile used. Even when the tiles have been Specially prepared and kiln dried to remove a possible, the foreshortening may be increased to approximately one-eighth of an inch I l mois ture therefrom and shrink same as far asv i. w en the tiles are in an expanded condition.

The spaces between the corner tiles are next filled n with tiles b, b. In the illustration shown in the drawings there is only one tile Iron each side, but it is obvious that where equally distributed throughout the row and the tilesmay then be made permanently fast either by cement applied to the tiles be fore they are laid, or by nails or by both. This same procedure is repeated uponall four sides of the section, as shown to the right in Fig. 1 and in Figs. 2 and 3. After the border row of tiles has been permanently secured in place the interior ofthe square thus formed is filled bylaying the tiles in transverse rows, except that a space for a predetermined number of tiles, preferably four, isleft to be filled at one operation. I

The transverse rows of tiles are laid commencing preferably adjacent to the border row and in the particular form of construction shown in the drawings, the intermediate rows comprise three tiles, which are laid by canting two of the tiles, for example 0, with respect to each other, which puts all of the tiles in each row under pressure in one direction only. In case the square to be filled is adjacent to .a previously laid section, then one side of said section is usedas the border or side and the tiles 6 are laid adjacent thereto, as shown in Fig. 1."

The last four tiles d are laid at the same time. Their adjac nt edges are held together, and at the point e Where they all meet they are held in raised positions while the respective sides of the four tiles .thatare to be adjacent the respective tiles already laidare brought in contact therewith, and while in these tilted positions pressure is applied to the four tiles at their raised portions and they are thereby forced down: into place upon the floor thereby bringing cach'tile' in the square or section under pressure in all directions. This completes the section, and the squeeze produced by forcing the several tiles in place causes the joints to be tightly united, and the pressure between them to be,

equally distributed. The tiles maythen be nailed fast, orotherwise secured, as by cementing them and temporarily Weighting them until the cement becomes hard. .Wh'ere large sections are handled itm'a'y' be necessary to temporarily tack such tiles asare un- L lllClQSlIlg a spaceada-pted to receive ajprei determined number or, tiles, torcing tiles ,in place previous to their being iin ally seeured. This method .is repeated with suc-- tessive sections until the floor is entirely laid.

and lengitudinal directions.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim:

1. The method of laying a flooring of tiles of yielding material, which consists in dividing the iioor space into a plurality of rectangular sections adapted to. receive a predetermined limited number of tiles, and each having an area less than the normal area of the tiles to be secured in said section, securingpermanently the corner tiles of said foreshortened section, laying the sides of said sections by crowding the tiles between the fixed corners, laying the intermediate tiles in rows so as to leave a space in the interior of the section having an area smaller than the normal area of the tiles to be inserted therein, placing the tiles in said space tilted at an angle to each other, and then forcing said tiles into position by pres sure exerted on the tilted portions of said tiles, and then securing the tiles permanently in place.

2. The method of laying'a flooring of tiles of yielding material, which consistsin dividing the floor space into a plurality of rectangular sections having less area than the nor- 'malarea of the tiles to be-secured in said sections, securing permanently the cornertiles of each foreshortened section, laying the sidesof said sections by crowding the tiles between the fined corners, laying intermediate tiles in transnerscand longitudinal rows by iorci'iig said tiles into said rows under pressure, leaving a space in the interior oi the sect-ion having a smaller area than the-normal area of the tiles to be inserted therein, placing the tiles in said space tilted at an angle to each other and forcing the tiles into position in said space by pressure exerted on the tilted portions of said tiles, securing the tiles permanently in place, and then forming the adjacent sections by using the first mentioned section as one Wall of each adjacent section.

3. A method of laying a flooring of units or tiles of yielding material which consists in dividingthe floor space into a plurality of foreshortened squares and filling the interior of each of said squares'by forcing tiles under pressure in one. direction into "rows transverse with respect to each other tt'jleave a foreshortened space in the interiorof each j 'square,fand forcing tiles into said space until all of the tiles in the interior ofsaid square are under pressure in both transverse at. A method of laying a flooring of units or tiles of yielding material which consists in providing a stationary border of tiles underpressureinto rowsbetween said bOr- "der, whereby portion of the tiles in. each of said rows will be under pressure in one directiomleavmg an opening adapted to receive a predetermined number of tiles and having an-area less than the normal area of said tiles and then forcing said tiles into said opening under pressure, whereby each of the tiles within said border is subjected to pressure in all directions.

5. A method oflaying a fioorin of units or tiles of yielding material whic consists 1n permanently laying a hollow square of tiles, so that the interior area of said square will be not reater than the'normal area of the tiles to fie inserted therein, layin rows of tiles in said space, commencing'a jacent" to the border row and laying said rows in" in dividing the floor space into a plurality of sections, each adapted toreceive a pre determined number of tiles, securing the corner tiles ofeach section in accurate alinement with the corresponding tiles in adjacent sections, forcing tiles under pressure between corner tiles to form a plurality of hollow squares, and forcing tiles into rows in the-interior of each of said squares, under substantially similar pressi1re, s0 ,that the joints between the rows oftiles inthe several squares will formcontmuouslines lonfiitudinally and transversely of the entire oor space divided as aforesaid. V

, 7. The method of laying tile floors, in sections which consists in laying the four corner'tiles in secure and predeterminedforeshortened positions, fillm in between the adjacent cornertiles by orcing the intermediate tiles into lace between said foreshortened corner t1 es, se uring the tiles in place composin the boi deifl'; aying other rows of tiles wit in the borderby laying the tiles flatwise, and by laying the last two tiles in each row by holding their adjacent edges together in raised position and their opposite edges against their ad'acent tiles and a plyin pressure to force t e tiles in place,

t e rows eing laid to leave a fo'reshortened s o uare space r four tilesi then laying four ti es in this space by hol Tug their common ad'acent corners in raise position and the si es adjacent the laid tiles positioned against said tiles and applying pressure at the raised" part to force t e four tiles in place to distribute an equal pressure within the border and securing the tiles within the outer border in place. I

In testimony whereof. I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

DAVID KENNEDY. 

